I have heard many people tell me that living in a foreign country (especially a non western one) is extremely challenging. Not being able to speak the language, a lack of organization and efficiency, and a unfamiliar culture will definitely test your patience. Plus the fact that you will be separated from your friends and family for two years can be emotionally straining. But in all honestly, living in a foreign country hasn't been all the difficult… at least not in the way you would think.
God has really blessed me and provided me with a nice three bedroom apartment that is in a really safe neighborhood. I have internet, a washer/dryer and warm showers. I have a great social group of friends that I hang out with on a regular basis, and two Peruvian roommates who have been great company and both to which I admire greatly for all the ministry work they do at the International Christian school that is a few blocks from our house. Besides getting a wisdom tooth removed, I have not gotten seriously ill or had any serious medical issues that would hinder my ability to get around. I have been able to eat well. The Peruvian cuisine is fantastic. Plus, most of the food I enjoyed in the US, can be found at the grocery store which is a five minute walk from my house. Because I took three years of Spanish in high school and one in college, and because my grandma is from Mexico, and my mom speaks Spanish, the Spanish language is not at all new to me. Plus, the simple fact that English and Spanish have so many similarities has main the task of learning the language quite painless. I would have to be a real pompous jerk to complain about any of the living arrangements that I have at this moment in time.
But by far the most difficult part of living in Peru is the ministry work, which is exactly the reason I am here. In case you didn't already know, my goal of being here in Peru is to share the gospel with the Japanese population here in Lima as well as help start a church within the San Isidro district here in Lima. San Isidro is one of the richest districts (if not the richest) in Lima. My supervisor and I are hoping to start a church that is a hybrid of business professionals as well as Japanese Christians.
What makes ministry so difficult is just the pure fact that it is very difficult to reach out to this specific group of people. Not only are these groups of people very closed off the gospel, at the same time their work ethic is unbelievably strong making it near impossible to find a time to meet with them. Another frustrating thing about Peruvians, is they often are afraid to tell you "no" because they feel it is rude. So if you send an email to them inviting them to an event, their version of now is to simply not respond to your email or just not show up. Sometimes you really just wish somebody from this people group would come up to you randomly on the street and ask you, "how I can inherit the Kingdom of God?"
On a positive note, there is a large demand for business professionals who want to learn English, so we have used teaching English classes as a door to share the gospel. We have several Japanese students who we teach English with several times a week. While this process is slow, it's been a great way to share bible stories with the students.
Because our students will often cancel bible studies and English classes, I often find myself with a lot of free time, which can be a blessing or a curse. While I do enjoy my alone time and relaxing, it is very easy to get distracted by TV shows, hanging out with friends and looking up trivial information on the internet. Before I left to go overseas, I thought that being a missionary in itself would in a way automatically make me grow in Christ. This is completely false. Just like being in the United States, you have to be diligently be reading the Bible and seeking after Christ in order to see any spiritual growth. You can be here for months, and not grow spiritually at all if you are just going through the motions and aren't spiritually disciplining yourself. This has definitely been a huge struggle for me. I am one of those people who thrive when I have clear direction and explicit instructions. But when your ministry often revolves around uncertainties and maybes like this job, it is often quite difficult for me to stay completely on track.
I am definitely one of those people who have a guilty conscious. A week ago I was in a state of guilt about the lack of progress I had made while I have been here in Peru. I prayed and ask God for forgiveness for the lack of effort and randomly ran across this verse in the bible:
God is good. I hope you can continue praying for us as we reach out to the Japanese and business professionals here in Lima. Keeping praying that I will be constantly seeking after Christ and looking for more opportunities to meet people and share the Gospel.
No comments:
Post a Comment